For 22nd year, Hopkinton students meet elite runners from Kenya

Friday

Apr 18, 2014 at 9:24 AMApr 18, 2014 at 9:24 AM

By Jonathan PhelpsDaily News Staff

HOPKINTON – Third-grader Will Masterson practiced his Swahili with Frankline Chepkwony at the Elmwood School on Thursday morning.Chepkwony is an elite Kenyan runner in this year’s Boston Marathon."I learned a couple of words in Swahili," said Will, 9.Will and his classmate Harry Petrie, 9, showed Chepkwony a drawing they made of him for a project in teacher Tom Keane’s classroom. The room was decked out in Kenyan decorations and student projects."That was a lot of fun meeting Frankline," Will said. "He taught me a little more about Kenya."For 22 years, the school and race sponsor John Hancock have teamed up to bring Kenyan runners to the school before the Marathon for the Scholars and Stars program. A Kenyan has won either the men or women’s Marathon races in the last 22 years, according to John Hancock.Fourteen elite Kenyan runners took part in the pre-Marathon rally, including last year’s women’s champion Rita Jeptoo. Other previous winners included Sharon Cherop and Caroline Kilel.This wasn’t just another school assembly – the runners were introduced one by one through a fog machine while popular music blasted and a strobe light flashed across the room. The students cheered and waved Kenyan and American flags as each runner was announced by Larry Rawson, a well-known marathon analyst."I am always so happy to see the young children interested in running and learning about another country and its people," Jeptoo said in a prepared statement.The students sang the American, Kenyan and Elmwood anthems. They also danced and sang Swahili songs for the runners. A conga line with the Kenyan runners broke out at one point."You are an inspiration to all of us," Principal David Ljungberg said to the runners.Cherop, who won the women’s race in 2012, said after the assembly that she’s glad to be back to run her fourth Boston Marathon."I like running Boston because I like the course," she said. "I started well in Boston in 2011. I believe I can win my second."She said she became interested in running at an age similar to the school's students."It was my time to inspire them," she said.The school of second- and third-graders raised $2,900 for the Kenyan Kids Foundation run by Wesley Korir, who won the Marathon in 2012. The donation was announced to many cheers by the students.Jean Kamau, Kenyan ambassador to the United States, shared with the students that both Boston and Kenya had rough years in 2013 with terrorist attacks. A gunman opened fire at the Westgate mall in Kenya in September, killing 67 people."We stand in solidarity together," she said. "We will be strong."High school senior Melissa Lodge told the students she was inspired to run track because of attending the rally at Elmwood."I wanted to be like the Kenyans because who wouldn’t want to be? They are fast, caring, happy and hardworking," she said. "The Kenyans showed me what it is like to be a champion and win with grace. They also taught me that winning isn’t everything."Before the rally, the Kenyan runners met in Keane’s classroom. Many of them took cellphone photos with the students.The students reviewed their Swahili lesson books and pointed out biographical posters they created for each runner. They welcomed each other with a popular Swahili greeting, "jambo.""Every single year it gets better and better," Keane said of the program.Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 508-626-4338 or jphelps@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JPhelps_MW.